Dobby lever



Sept. l5, 1936. E. R. HOLMES ET AL 2,054,585

DOBBY LEVER Fil-ed March 4, 1935 f Attzrney I Patented Sept. 15, 1936 UNITED? V4sir-Mss PATENT' OFFICE BOBBY LEVER' Massachusetts Application March 4', 1935, Serial.' No. 9.3144

6. Claims.

inventionrelates to dobby levers for looms and it is the general object of the invention to provide an improved lever having increased bear-v ing areas and arranged to facilitate assembly of the dobby hooks.

Dobbies include in their construction a pair of hooks' to cooperate with oppositel'y reciprocating knives', a pattern mechanism determining which hooks are to cooperate with the knives. Each pair of hooks is connected to a dobby lever which in turn isI pivoted to a harness jack and the force to lift `the harness frames 'is transmitted from the reciprocating knives through the hooks and dobby levers. The hooks are subject to wear and need occasionalv renewal, an operation which is ordinarily facilitated by having the ends of the dobby levers forked to permit spreading incident. to insertion of the bearing end of the hook.

Heretofore the dobby levers have been made either of malleable iron or of two pressed steel sections which can be forced apart for assembly of the hook, after which the parts spring together. A lever made according to the latter method Vis set forth in prior Patent No. 1,451,828 issued to Holmes.

It is an important object of our present invention to form the dobby lever of two sections one of which is a forging or the'like possessing relatively high strength and rigidity together with 30 improved wearing qualities, and the other of which is a flat spring secured to one side of the forging and yieldable to permit assembly of the hooks. When one of the hooks is drawn out the opposite end of the dobby lever has a rolling or sliding pivotal relation with a fixed girt on the dobby frame. As heretofore constructed the bearing which the dobby lever presents to the girt has been formed in two parts which give uneven wearing. Itis a further object of our present invention to provide the lprincipal or forged part of the lever Vwith abroad integral bearing which shall engage the girts and occupy all of the space available for the bearing. Y' Y It is a further object of our invention to provide bearing gudgeons formed integrally with the main .part of the lever and having relatively large hardened surfaces o n which the hooks pivot. The hooks themselves are modified for prior constructions in'that they are perforated to fit over the gudgeons of the lever.

Y With these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, our invention resides in the combination and arrange- (Cl. 13B-'14),

ment` of parts hereinafter described and set. forth in the claims.

the accompanying drawing, wherein a convenient embodiment. of' our invention is set forth,

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a dobby 5 showing our improved dobby lever with associated parts,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged' front elevation of the lever,

Fig. 3 is an end elevation taken in the direction of arrow 3, Fig. 2 with certain parts in section, l0

Fig. i is an enlarged plan view taken in the direction of' arrow l, Fig. 2',A

Fig. 5 is an enlarged horizontal section on line 5'5 of Fig. 2',y and Y Fig. 6' is a detailed perspective view illustrating the manner of assembling the two parts of the dobby lever.

Referring to Fig. l, we have indicated a harness jack I 0 of usual construction having a pivotal connection H with the dobby lever l2A :forming the subject matter of our present invention. Upper and lower fixed bearing or guide girts 13 and H, respectively, may be provided as usual and dobby ngers I5 and I6 may be provided for the upper and lower hooks I1 and i8, respectively. A lifter rodV f8 may be interposed between the upper hook'and its finger as usual. The nngers are pivoted on a stationary rod or shaft 2l! and the usual combs ZI are provided for the hooks to guide the same and keep them in proper register with their lifting fingers or rods I9. Lifter knives 22 are of the usual construction and reciprocate oppositely in the ordinary manner.

Except for the features of the dobby lever and hook to beset forth hereinafter, the parts already described are of common construction and may be made in the usual manner. It is to be understood that there is a series of the harness levers or jacks l0 located side by side, depending upon the number of harness frames to be used in the loom, and that there will be a dobby lever with its pair of hooks for each of the jacks.

The dobby lever forming the subject matter of our present invention comprises a relatively heavy stiff section 30 having a wide central part 3| through which extends a bore 32 to receive the pivot Il. The bore extends for the full thickness of the lever and provides a comparatively broad bearing surface. Each end of the section 3|) may be formed substantially as shown in the lower part of Fig. 6, where it will be seen that a bearing gudgeon 33 projects from the offset web 34 which is an extension of the main part of the section 30. A wall 35 extends upwardly from oisets preferably though not necessarily being on the same side of the section. A ring bearingy 38 may project laterally from the central part of the section 30 as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3.

Each hook I1 and I8 has a bearing end 40 which in the present instance is perforated by a bore 4I sized to receive the gudgeon 33. This bearing extends between the substantially parallel sides of the bearing end of the hook and constitutes a departure from prior practice, inasmuch as hooks have heretofore carried the bearing gudgeons. y

'I'he hooks are heldin place by a resilient hook retainer 50 which may conform generally to the outline of the section 30 so far as the central parts thereof' are concerned. The retainer ts around the ring 38 and is held to the section 30 by rivets 5I spaced far enough from the ends of the lever'to permit the retainer to be sprun-g away from the boss 33 far enough Vto permit assembly of the hook, as indicated in dotted lines, Fig. 3. 'I'he ends of the retainer may be offset as at ,52,to define with the adjacent offset 34 a space to receive the bearing end 40 of a hook and across which the gudgeon extends. The gudgeons preferably extend through holes 53 formed in the ends of the retainer so that the latter reinforce the main'section 30 during the harness lifting operation. l v

The retainer 50 is preferably made of resilient material, such as sheet spring steel, and is capable of returning to the position indicated in full lines in Fig. 3 after being sprung away Yfrom the main section 30 to permit application of the hook. During the assembly'of the hook the greater part of the yielding necessary to expose the outer end of the gudgeons is accomplished by bending of the retainer 5D, although the main section 30 may ryield slightly during this operation.

From the foregoing it will be seen that we have provided a dobby lever made of two parts or sections, one of which is relatively rigid and carries the bearing gudgeons for the hooks, while the other yields to bend away from the rigid section during the hook assembling operation. rlille section 30, being preferably a drop forging, can be made with a bore 32 of considerable width to withstand the wearing incident to rocking the harness jack I0. Furthermore, the girt engaging bearings 36, being integral with the section 30, can be made of full width and present an unbroken smooth curved surface which will resist wearing during pivotal relation with the'cross girts I3 or I4. The section 30 is preferably made of such material as willadmit of heat treating after formation so that the bearings 32 and 36 can be hardened to further enhance their Wearing qualities, The retainer 5l) not only serves to hold the hooks in proper position to prevent lateral displacement along the gudgeons 33, but also reinforces the sectionY 30 because of its contact with portions of said sections 30 at the points indicated in Fig. 2. Also, the hooks are formed with bearings in the endsthereof adjacent the lever yto receive the gudgeons,

` geons Having thus described our invention it will bei seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and we do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what we claim is:

1. In avdobby lever, a substantially rigid body section having a bearing extending through the intermediate portion thereof, hook receiving gudintegral with and extending laterally from the section, hooks pivoted on the gudgeons, and a hook retainer separate from the section and secured thereto and having resilient ends to t around portions of the gudgeons remote from the Ysection to reinforce the latter and hold the hookson the gudgeons, the resilient retainer capable of being flexed away from the rigid body section while the latter retains its normal form to permit removal of the hook from the gudgeon.

2. In a dobby lever, a substantially rigid body section, 'a resilient retainer section secured to the body section, a hookrwith a perforated end between the rigid section and retainer, and a bearing gudgeon for the hook integral with the body section and extending toward and through the adjacent end of the retainer, the adjacent ends of the body section and retainer being spaced to provide for a hook, and the resilient retainer engaging the part of the gudgeon remote from the body section to reinforce the gudgeon, the resilient retainer capable of being ilexed away from the rigid body section While the latter retains its normal form to permit removal of the hook from the gudgeon.

-3. In a dobby lever, a rigid body section having a substantially at central portion and an offset end portion, a gudgeon integral with the body section and extending laterally from the offset portion, a bearing wall integral with the body section also extending laterally from the offset end in the same direction as the gudgeon extends, a hook retainer of resilient material secured to the body section and extending around a part of the gudgeon and having portions to extend between the gudgeon and the wall bearing, and a hook pivoted on the gudgeon between the offset end portion and the retainer, the resilient retainer capable of being flexed away from the rigid body section while the latter retains its normal form to permit removal of the hook from the gudgeon.

4. In a dobby lever, a body section of substantially rigid material having a at intermediate part perforated by a bearing, one end of the section being offset from the intermediate part, a hook having a perforation, an integral gudgeon for the perforation extending laterally from the offset, an integral bearing wall substantially the full thickness of the lever and extending from the oifset and spaced from the gudgeon, and a resilient hook retainer to hold the hook on the gudgeon, said retainer secured to the body section and extending toward and around the gudgeon and defining with the offset a hook space across which the gudgeon extends, the resilient retainer capable of being ilexed away from the rigid body section While the latter retains its normal form to permit removal of the hook from the gudgeon.

5. In a dobby lever, a rigid body section having a flat intermediate part perforated by a bearing and having an offset end, a hook having a perforation, a bearing gudgeon for the perforation integral with the offset end and extending laterally therefrom, a bearing wall spaced from the gudgeon also integral with the offset end, the surfaces of the gudgeon and wall remote from and substantially parallel to the offset end lying substantially in a plane, and a hook retainer of resilient material secured to the body section and eXtending around the end of the gudgeon remote from the offset end, the hook lying between the latter and the retainer, the resilient retainer capable of being flexed away from the rigid body section While the latter retains its normal form to permit removal of the hook from the gudgeon.

6. In a dobby, a dobby lever formed of two parts secured together, one part being rigid and the other part resilient, a gudgeon integral with the rigid part and extending laterally therefrom adjacent one end thereof, a. bearing wall integral with said rigid part extending laterally therefrom at the end thereof and spaced from the gudgeon, the bearing wall ending substantially in the plane of the end of the gudgeon, and the resilient part having a perforated end to receive the outer end of the gudgeon and extending between the latter and the bearing wall, the end of said resilient part lying between the end of the gudgeon and the rigid part, and the bearing wall overhanging that portion of the resilient part located between the gudgeon and bearing Wall to form a broad bearing. 

